Mayor: Approved budget still needs work

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Mobile City Council members unanimously approved Mayor Sam Jones’ budget for the 2013 fiscal year, with several amendments.

See the budget amendments here.

City officials said the move is a big step forward in dealing with the city’s financial woes. However, Mayor Jones said there is still work to be done with the budget.

“We are still at this point doing some analysis on the amendments submitted at the meeting,” said Mayor Jones. “When we get the analysis then we plan to sit down and meet with them and show them what we see in the analysis.”

City officials said, pending the review, the budget may still not be balanced. It is, however, already in effect.

Provisions of the budget include up to $1,000 “longevity pay” for fulltime city employees and cutting funding by 10 percent for dozens of performance contracts.

The Mobile Sports Authority was the only contract completely eliminated.

“We estimate about 58 million dollars worth of economic impact through events that we've sponsored, brought in, and managed,” said Executive Director for the Mobile Sports Authority, Danny Corte. “So we are a revenue source for the city and all I can hope is that this is a misunderstanding about something.”

Mayor Jones says once his finance team reviews the amendments and add them to his budget, they will meet with City council members to discuss the measure and revote on the budget if need be.

Regardless, he said Tuesday’s city council meeting was productive and a big step forward.

The council also passed a sales tax increase with a 5-2 vote.

Councilwoman Gina Gregory, who has long opposed the tax hike, pledged her support for the tax in order to maintain standards in Mobile Public Safety.

Mayor Jones said collection of the new tax will likely begin in two months.